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Sunday, 2 October 2016

GBBO 2016 Week 5 - Danish Apple Roses

I know, another danish pastry - but I couldn't resist!! These look fab, and once you know some key steps, they're really easy to make. Filled with sliced apple and raspberry jam, they are amazing to have as a breakfast or dessert. My recipe made 6 fairly large roses.Ingredients:

250g (2 cups) strong white flour, plus extra for dusting

5g (1tsp) fast-action dried yeast

5g (1tsp) salt

40g (1/4cup) caster sugar

2 egg

30ml (2tbsp) water

60ml (1/4 cup) full-fat milk

125g unsalted butter (1/2 cup), chilled

2 medium apples, halved, cored and sliced thinly (2-3mm, do not peel)

Juice of half a lemon

200g raspberry jam (seedless)

Icing sugar (to dust)

Method:

1. Make the dough. Pour the flour into a bowl of a stand mixer (attached with a dough hook). Add the yeast to one side of the bowl, and salt and sugar to the opposite side.

2. Heat the milk until it is tepid, and mix with the egg and water. Pour onto the flour, and then mix on a low speed for 2 minutes.

3. Pull the dough off of the dough hook, and then increase the speed to medium, and mix for a further 6 minutes.

4. Transfer to a lightly greased bowl, cover with cling film or a tea towel. There are two options for proving.

5. The first of these is to place the dough in the fridge, and leave overnight to prove. This greatly increases the flavour of the dough.

6. The second if you are short of time (or in the Bake Off tent!) is to prove for at least an hour in a warm place, until it has doubled in size.

7. Whilst the dough is proving, use a rolling pin to flatten the butter into a rectangle about 25cm x 15cm. Place the butter between two sheets of cling film prior to rolling. Place in the fridge until needed.

8. Once proved, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and roll out to a rectangle 20cm x 10cm. Place the butter in the middle of the dough, then bring the exposed pastry up around the butter, so that it is fully encased. Crimp the edges to seal in the butter, then place in the freezer for 10 minutes.

9. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface, with the shortest ends facing you. Roll out the dough to 20 x 8cm rectangle, then fold the bottom third of the pastry up, and the top third down (like a leaflet). Return to the freezer for 10 minutes.

10. Repeat the rolling, folding, and freezing process two times. After the final folding, chill the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes.

11. Prepare the apples by placing them in a large bowl. Cover with the lemon juice, then add water until it just covers the apples.

12. Place the apples in the microwave and cook on full heat for 3-4 minutes, until the apples have softened and are easy to piece with a knife.

13. Drain the apples and set aside to cool. If you are in a hurry, run cold water over the apples to cool them faster.

14. Roll the pastry out to a 20cm x 20cm square, about 1/2cm thick. Divide into 6 strips.

15. Spread the raspberry jam over each strip.

16. Place the apple slices, with the peel facing up wards, over one long side of the dough, so that they cover the top half of the strip. Overlap the apple slices slightly, until you get to the end of the strip.

17. Fold the bottom half of the dough (which has no apple on it), over the top of the dough, and press down lightly.

18. With the short size towards you, roll up the strip like a swiss roll - the apple slices will form a swirl that resemble rose petals.

19. Place in a deep muffin tin - this helps them to keep their shape. Cover loosely with clingfilm or a tea towel, and leave for 30 minutes to rise slightly.

20. Preheat your oven to 220c (200c fan)/425f/gas mark 7.

21. Bake your roses for 10-12 minutes, until they are nicely golden on top. Leave to cool, then dust with icing sugar.